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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d2a0555ae20a27e7427909c66572243a.pdf
569e1f12a53533ab14b35b5842a4f43b
PDF Text
Text
An Anniversary Prayer
Prayer offered by Richard A. Rhem
at the 50th Anniversary Celebration
of Glenn and Arlene Yoas
December 13, 2013
Oh God, Eternal One,
in whom we live and move and have our being,
in the midst of this happy celebration
we pause consciously to experience and to acknowledge your presence,
present to us.
We do so naturally at life’s critical junctures,
life’s moments awash with meaning –
those moments that cause our hearts to sing or to break,
our minds to be radiant with light and illumination
or numb in somber darkness.
We pause; we are still.
We are present to you who are present to us –
the presence of Mystery in whom and before whom
our lives are played out.
In the quietness of this moment,
we pause to give thanks for the fifty years of life together
shared by Glenn and Arlene –
for their love and faithfulness,
for the richness of their experiences,
for the model they are
of strength and steadiness,
of faith and devotion.
We celebrate their years as lovers, partners, friends,
and we give you thanks that, as children, grandchildren and friends,
we can share these moments with them.
Memories wash over us of special times and seasons.
The film of fifty years flashes through our minds –
times when we laughed until the tears
washed over our cheeks;
times when the struggle was intense,
and the goal far off;
times when dreams came true,
© Grand Valley State University
�Anniversary Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
Page 2
and times when dreams were shattered;
times when joy burst the soul,
and times when grief filled the heart;
times of health and strength;
times when health seemed threatened and the future put in question.
Oh God,
we remember with laughter and with tears,
and we own it all,
the whole long, wonderful, fragile, perilous, beautiful journey.
For it is the tapestry of two lives lived well,
lived fully, authentically, before your face –
a tapestry with entwining threads
of all the colors of the rainbow:
brighter and more somber tones, light and shadow.
And through it all your presence, your faithfulness,
even your presence in absence.
We give you thanks, O God, for your grace
that has enabled them to be all they are,
and we seek your benediction upon them
as they move beyond this significant landmark.
Fill their future years with the richness of harvest,
enabling them to savor the fruits
of their love and labor.
Favor them with good health and even new adventure.
Surround them with the loving care of their children,
the happy exuberance of their grandchildren,
and embrace of the circle of their friends.
May your mercy be experienced with every breaking dawn
and peace mantle them with every golden sunset.
And as they gaze on the grandeur of the night’s starry heaven,
may they know themselves enwrapped together
in the Mystery of the abyss of your steadfast love.
With gratitude we gather around these tables,
acknowledging the gifts of bread and wine.
And in the midst of this joyous feast,
we remember the one who broke bread and poured the cup,
and has become for us the Bread of Life, the Wine of New Creation,
the one whose birth we celebrate in this beautiful season
of Advent and Christmas –
Jesus Christ our Lord.
© Grand Valley State University
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard A. Rhem Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Religion
Interfaith worship
Sermons
Sound Recordings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rhem, Richard A.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kaufman Interfaith Institute
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
KII-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1981-2014
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
text/pdf
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Event
A prayer at the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of the Yoas
Location
The location of the interview
Grand Haven, Michigan
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RA-1-20131213
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2013-12-13
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Title
A name given to the resource
Anniversary Prayer
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard A. Rhem
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Description
An account of the resource
Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 13, 2013 entitled "Anniversary Prayer ", on the occasion of A prayer at the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of the Yoas, at Grand Haven, Michigan. Tags: Prayer, Anniversary, Life Journey.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Anniversary
Life Journey
Prayer
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0a5e74ab39ed767c9c2324ddc05eed25.pdf
5257a82ecff82ff95d205b4d527e54bc
PDF Text
Text
On the Celebration of
The Golden Wedding Anniversary
Of Norm and Maureen Campbell
Prayer offered by Richard A. Rhem
September 2012
Oh God,
Eternal One,
in whom we live and move and have our being,
in the midst of this happy celebration
we pause consciously to experience and to acknowledge your Presence,
present to us.
We do so naturally at life’s critical junctures,
life’s moments awash with meaning –
those moments that cause our hearts to sing or to break,
our minds to be radiant with light and illumination
or numb in somber darkness.
We pause; we are still.
We are present to you who are present to us –
the presence of Mystery in whom and before whom
our lives are played out.
In the quietness of this moment,
we pause to give thanks for the fifty years of life together
shared by Norm and Maureen –
(two-thirds of their respective 75 years of life!) –
for their love and faithfulness,
for the richness of their experiences,
for the model they are
of strength and steadiness,
of faith and devotion,
of kindness and gentleness.
We celebrate their years as lovers, partners, friends,
and we give you thanks that, as children, grandchildren
and a large circle of friends,
we can share these moments with them.
Memories wash over us of special times and seasons.
The film of fifty years flashes through our minds –
times when we laughed until the tears
washed over our cheeks;
�Anniversary Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
Page 2
times when the struggle was intense,
and the goal far off;
times when dreams came true,
and times when dreams were shattered;
times when joy burst the soul,
and times when grief filled the heart;
times of health and strength;
times when health seemed threatened and the future put in question.
Oh God,
we remember with laughter and with tears,
and we own it all,
the whole long, wonderful, fragile, perilous, beautiful journey.
For it is the tapestry of two lives lived well,
lived fully, authentically, before your face –
a tapestry with entwining threads
of all the colors of the rainbow:
brighter and more somber tones, light and shadow.
And through it all your presence, your faithfulness,
even your presence in absence.
We give you thanks, O God, for your grace
that has enabled them to be all they are,
and we seek your benediction upon them
as they move beyond this significant landmark.
Fill their future years with the richness of harvest,
enabling them to savor the fruits of their love and labor.
Favor them with good health and even new adventure.
Surround them with the loving care of their children,
the happy exuberance of their grandchildren,
and embrace of the circle of their friends.
May your mercy be experienced with every breaking dawn
and may peace mantle them with every golden sunset.
And as they gaze on the grandeur of the night’s starry heaven,
may they know themselves enwrapped together
in the Mystery of the abyss of your steadfast love.
With gratitude we gather around these tables,
acknowledging the gifts of bread and wine.
And in the midst of this joyous feast,
we remember the one who broke bread and poured the cup,
and has become for us the Bread of Life, the Wine of New Creation,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
�Anniversary Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
Page 3
It was my lucky day when Norm and Maureen showed up at CCC.
Obviously they cared deeply about the church, about the faith, about compassion
and justice. Intelligent, thoughtful, engaged, and just as nice as could be!
With them we shared weddings, baptisms, funerals, and simply friendship.
Nancy and I are blessed by them; to be their pastor a great privilege.
Norm and Maureen, you have earned our respect and, more than that, our love.
It is with great joy that we celebrate with you 75 years of life and 50 years of
marriage.
�
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9b7f30d7f2c7c615a316ef40295e1b8.wav
85525626d159b13a57dac6104b5b23da
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard A. Rhem Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Religion
Interfaith worship
Sermons
Sound Recordings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rhem, Richard A.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kaufman Interfaith Institute
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
KII-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1981-2014
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
text/pdf
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Event
Family Gathering
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RA-1-20120901
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Sound
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
audio/wav
Title
A name given to the resource
On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard A. Rhem
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Description
An account of the resource
Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 1, 2012 entitled "On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells", on the occasion of Family Gathering. Tags: Family, Faith, Life Journey, Grace of God, Celebration of Life, Anniversary, Prayer.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012-09-01
Anniversary
Celebration of Life
Faith
Family
Grace of God
Life Journey
Prayer